Glenfarclas The Family Casks 19 Years Old 1999

This official Glenfarclas, a 19 year old, from 1999, cask 7060, at 56%, 627 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. Its whiskies are bottled at their natural colour, without chill filtration.

The spirit was distilled to a rich, generous cut, giving a deep, full bodied Speyside spirit. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. Through oxidative maturity the esters concentrate, the orchard notes turning to raisin, fig and a dark chocolate. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. Active wood drives the maturation, the cask deep in the malt. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth.

At 56%, undiluted, it is dark and full. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, lifted by a sweet oak. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.